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Teen Births Down, Drug Use Up

America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2011 continues a series of annual reports to the Nation on conditions affecting children in the United States.

Here are some highlighted findings from this year's report:

• In 2010, there were 74.2 million children ages 0–17 in the United States, or 24 percent of the population.

• In 2010, 66 percent of children ages 0–17 lived with two married parents, down from 67 percent in 2009 and 77 percent in 1980.

• Among the 3.0 million children not living with either parent in 2010, 54 percent lived with grandparents.

• In 2009, the adolescent birth rate was 20.1 per 1,000 adolescents ages 15–17, lower than the 2008 rate of 21.7 and the 2007 rate of 22.1 per 1,000. The rate has decreased for two consecutive years, continuing a decline briefly interrupted in 2005–2007.

• In 2009, 21 percent of all children ages 0–17 (15.5 million) lived in poverty. This is up from the low of 16 percent in 2000 and 2001.

• Illicit drug use in the past 30 days increased among 8th-grade students, rising from 8 percent in 2009 to almost 10 percent in 2010.

• In 2009, 70 percent of high school completers enrolled immediately in a 2-year or 4-year college.

• In 2007–2008, 19 percent of children ages 6–17 were obese, which was not statistically different from the percentage in 2005–2006.

• As of 2008, approximately 2.5 percent of U.S. children had joined their families through adoption, including adoptions from foster care, private domestic adoptions, international adoptions, and stepparent adoptions.